The export of WeChat chat records has long been a concern for many users. To address this need, numerous third-party software applications have been developed online that offer the functionality to export WeChat chat histories.
However, such software may soon become unusable. Recent reports indicate that Tencent has formally issued a complaint letter to GitHub, the world's largest code hosting and collaboration platform, demanding the removal of a batch of open-source projects that "allow users to export or analyze their own WeChat chat records." Some maintainers of popular projects have publicly stated that, under legal pressure, their projects have been forced to cease maintenance.
This signifies that Tencent is actively complaining to demand the removal of open-source projects that enable third-party access to WeChat chat records.
On January 22, Tencent responded, stating that certain open-source projects for reading WeChat chat records employ methods like reverse engineering the WeChat client to crack the local database encryption key, thereby bypassing the client's encryption measures. This poses a threat to the data privacy of both the user and third parties, as well as the security of the client itself, and is highly susceptible to exploitation by black and gray market industries.
Tencent stated that it made the request to the open-source platform based on relevant regulations and received support from the platform. Following communication with the platform, the majority of the projects chose to proactively remove the non-compliant content.
Complaint details exposed on social media reveal that Tencent targeted over 30 related projects in a single complaint. This included popular content with widespread downloads and collections, and even smaller-scale projects intended solely for technical research or personal data organization were not spared.
Previously, the WeChat Security Center issued an announcement warning that using third-party tools to manage WeChat chat records could pose the following risks:
Disclosing and using chat records without the consent of WeChat contacts may risk their personal information and privacy security; providing chat records and other data to third-party tools could lead to the leakage of your personal information and privacy; if chat records contain sensitive information such as your identity, location, or payment details, it could be used by criminals for information trafficking or targeted scams, endangering personal and property safety.
The WeChat Security Center advised users not to install or use any third-party tools that access local chat records. The WeChat platform will continue to resolutely combat all behaviors that illegally obtain or utilize WeChat end-user data. If users discover such situations, they are urged to file a complaint immediately through the client.
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